Archive for the ‘Florida Central News’ Category

Persistent disparities in homeownership rates between whites and minorities may be at least partly explained by the fact that minorities are less likely to apply for mortgages than whites and more likely to be denied, a study by Zillow and the National Urban League suggests. The study also found many blacks and Hispanics who have…Read More »

The share of consumers who plan to buy a home rose to 6.9 percent in December, up from 5 percent in November, according to a monthly economic outlook released today by Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research Group. Despite concerns about mortgage availability, Fannie Mae economists reported that consumer attitudes about the ease of getting a mortgage are at the…Read More »

Your mortgage lender places you in a predatory loan and you ask for a simple loan modification to today’s rates. You pay your bills and have never defaulted on anything. Can you get the loan modification you’re seeking, or are you stuck? In part 1 of this series I outlined the situation that placed me…Read More »

Purchases up 21.6 percent from year ago Sales of new single-family homes skyrocketed in October, ending a three-month slump that began in July and providing evidence that elevated mortgage rates have not seriously hobbled the housing recovery. New-home sales leaped 25.4 percent from September to October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 444,000, according to data…Read More »

Prospective homebuyers hoping to buy a home in the next four months say the lack of inventory is their biggest challenge, but many believe winter is a good time to buy because sellers are motivated to sell and more willing to negotiate. That’s according to a survey of more than 1,300 visitors to realtor.com…Read More »

Early in her legal career, working for her father’s property rights law firm in south Florida, Amy Brigham Boulris took an interest in “exactions” — cases in which jurisdictions impose conditions on landowners before development can occur. For years, she closely followed the case of Coy A. Koontz, a Florida businessman who purchased 15 mostly…Read More »

No. 10: Portland home prices increased 14 percent year-over-year to $270,000. Highest-rated public school: Lake Oswego School District 7J/School Score 9.6 Sure, the weather’s great and we’ve got plenty of activities for princesses and wizards, but economic development officials and professionals often speak highly of Central Florida’s schools. And now, a new ZipRealty report…Read More »

Interactive Median Home Price Map Zoom in to your metropolitan statistical area to get the latest quarterly median home price for your market, and its percentage change from the previous quarter. View Metropolitan Sales Areas Q2 2012 in a larger map

Long-term rates stayed about the same this week, mortgages just above 4.5 percent for most products. There are many things to write about this week, but the most important news for most Americans is the first retreat from Dodd-Frank toward common sense. Economic data stayed in pattern — reasonable growth without acceleration. Overall orders for…Read More »